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Quantification of the spatiotemporal microstructural organization of the human brain association, projection and commissural pathways across the lifespan using diffusion tensor tractography

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Abstract

Using diffusion tensor tractography, we quantified the microstructural changes in the association, projection, and commissural compact white matter pathways of the human brain over the lifespan in a cohort of healthy right-handed children and adults aged 6–68 years. In both males and females, the diffusion tensor radial diffusivity of the bilateral arcuate fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, corticospinal, somatosensory tracts, and the corpus callosum followed a U-curve with advancing age; fractional anisotropy in the same pathways followed an inverted U-curve. Our study provides useful baseline data for the interpretation of data collected from patients.

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Abbreviations

A:

Adults

AF:

Arcuate fasciculus

B:

Boys

C:

Children

CC:

Corpus callosum

CST:

Corticospinal tract

DTI:

Diffusion tensor imaging

DTT:

Diffusion tensor tractography

DT-FT:

Diffusion tensor fiber tracking

G:

Girls

gCC:

Genu of the corpus callosum

FA:

Fractional anisotropy

AFP:

Fronto-parietal segment of arcuate fasciculus

AFT:

Fronto-temporal segment of arcuate fasciculus

IFOF:

Inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus

ILF:

Inferior longitudinal fasciculus

L:

Left

M:

Men

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

pLIC:

Poster limb of internal capsule

R:

Right

ROI:

Region-of-interest

SNR:

Signal-to-noise ratio

sCC:

Splenium of the corpus callosum

SS:

Somatosensory pathway

ATP:

Temporo-parietal segment of arcuate fasciculus

UF:

Uncinate fasciculus

VBA:

Voxel-based analysis

W:

Women

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Acknowledgments

This work is funded by NIH R01 NS052505-04 awarded to KMH, NINDS R01 NS046308 awarded to LEC and P01 HD35946 awarded to JMF. The assistance of Vipul Kumar Patel in data acquisition is appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, University of Texas Medical School at Houston-Medical School, 6431 Fannin Street, MSB 2.100, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Khader M. Hasan, Arash Kamali, Humaira Abid & Larry A. Kramer

  2. Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston-Medical School, Houston, TX, USA

    Linda Ewing-Cobbs

  3. Psychology Department, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Jack M. Fletcher

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  1. Khader M. Hasan
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  2. Arash Kamali
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Correspondence to Khader M. Hasan.

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Hasan, K.M., Kamali, A., Abid, H. et al. Quantification of the spatiotemporal microstructural organization of the human brain association, projection and commissural pathways across the lifespan using diffusion tensor tractography. Brain Struct Funct 214, 361–373 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-009-0238-0

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